


Ice Water

by silentexplorer18



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Apologies, Arguing, But only minor arguments, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, Fireworks, Flirting, Fred had a bad day, Gardens & Gardening, M/M, Playful Reader, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Reader-Insert, Summer, ice cubes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25777069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentexplorer18/pseuds/silentexplorer18
Summary: Pranks run cold and tempers run hot over the summer, it seems.  Through it all, you and Fred manage to make amends.Written so the reader does not have a gender description!
Relationships: Fred Weasley/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 78





	Ice Water

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for [@kalimagik‘s](https://kalimagik.tumblr.com/) [A Very Harry Potter Summer](https://kalimagik.tumblr.com/post/623736112822763520/a-very-harry-potter-summer) over on Tumblr! I can’t even begin to thank @kalimagik enough for letting me take part in such a wonderful event! I’m so excited to read all the other amazing fics that [@hufflefluff-writer](https://hufflefluff-writer.tumblr.com/) is compiling onto the [event’s masterlist](https://hufflefluff-writer.tumblr.com/post/625222362839793664/1-morning-walks-dandelions-harry-potter-x)! To anyone in search of more HP content, I _highly _recommend checking out the writers on that list! :)__
> 
> _  
> _As for my fic, my prompt was ice cubes (for August 8th), and hopefully I’ve written something that’ll satisfy everyone’s Fred Weasley desires!_  
>  _  
> 

Your forehead was sticky with sweat, beads slowly dribbling down your temples. The heat was suffocating, but you were far from giving up on the task at hand.

Another weed. Another hole. Snipping back another branch of Molly’s unruly rose bush. Nudge another worm into the freshly dug dirt, away from the mountain of weeds yet to be pulled.

It was the least you could do, really, straighten up Molly’s unruly garden as thanks for letting you stay with the twins over the summer. Although you were a relatively good influence on the boys – infinitely kind to their mother, at least – and a sweet person to have around, your affinity for pranks and adventures married with the twins’ frighteningly well and ended in more than a few explosions and messes.

So making it up to Molly really was the least you could do. And before she came home from afternoon tea, you were determined to finish reviving the neglected portions of her garden. While her herbs and front walkway looked divine, her back garden had been abandoned over the years as both the Weasley family and subsequent parental demands had grown; hopefully now with all her children in school, she’d have a little more time to enjoy the full breadth of her yard’s offerings. Hopefully your efforts would kick start that process a little.

However, it was hot. Miserably so. And each movement made a fresh layer of sweat prickle across your skin and dampen your shirt. That was why, you suspected, the twins had opted to stay inside and work on their miniature lion fireworks (a new Gryffindor staple) over helping you pull weeds.

Well, that was probably  _ part  _ of the reason.

The other part Fred just so happened to be pondering a few meters away inside the house.  _ Maybe  _ he’d started it, but you’d certainly retaliated with fervor, and he wasn’t sure what to do about it now.

* * *

**A week earlier.**

It had been hot. The sweltering kind of hot that makes the head heavy and the skin slick. To Freddie, it was the perfect time for a prank to raise the spirits. However, he’d made you the unwitting target of his prank; a mistake.

You were outside with Ginny playing quidditch on a break from firework formulating when Fred had spotted you outside the window. Panting from the heat, you’d spiraled back toward the ground, fanning yourself in the hopes of finding a little relief from the hot, stagnant air.

Seeing you standing there unassuming with your back to the door lit an excitement in Fred’s belly. It had been  _ ages _ since he’d pranked you; tensions had been running high as of late with the multiple failed attempts he and George had experienced with their fireworks. But a prank! That would certainly brighten his day with a bit of fun!

Filling a glass with water and some ice, he snuck out the door, creeping behind the bushes, through the overgrowth in your direction. Light on his feet and you too hot to be on guard, it was easy for him to sneak up behind you, an excited grin curling the corners of his lips. Ginny was zipping laps around the garden, and your eyes lazily followed her. You’d never suspect someone was creeping up behind you.

With only a bush between you, he crouched, waiting for Ginny to move a little farther, turn the other way. One loop… two… and… gotcha!

Jumping from his hiding spot, he splashed the ice water down your neck, watching with an evil smile as the cubes slipped down the collar of your shirt and soaked the fabric across your back.

“Fred!” you gasped, glaring as you shook the ice out from under your clothes. Although your glare was stern, it was mostly from annoyance. You weren’t angry at him, and he knew that. He knew that you wouldn’t  _ truly _ be angry at him even before he’d left the kitchen. You always forgave him for the silly pranks.

However, one thing he forgot is that when you feel bored, you don’t forgive. Not really. Instead you get revenge.

And as nice as it would’ve been for that revenge to just be the playful grin that erupted from your face as you chased him around the yard for an innocent – not at all wet – hug, that certainly wasn’t the level of revenge you were planning on getting.

* * *

While he watched you from inside the kitchen, skirting behind the window curtain, your mind lingered on the revenge and aftermath of said revenge that occurred a few days later. Great minds think alike, but can occasionally have terrible timing.

* * *

**Half a week earlier.**

You hadn’t been particularly cross with Freddie following the events that transpired. However, you were keeping a careful eye out for a moment to enact revenge. That moment presented itself a few days later.

Taking an afternoon nap hadn’t been part of your plan, but the melody trickling from Ginny’s radio lulled you to sleep with ease. When you woke, the sun was low in the afternoon sky and the house was relatively empty. Wandering down to the kitchen, you found the twins outside.

Though you couldn’t tell at the time, they were kneeling before a few fireworks containers, and what you’d missed was the bickering that had started between the brothers when the first two formula attempts were lit and, unfortunately, failed. They’d intended to create small roaring lions that would captivate the audience, but instead the first firework resulted in a blob of sparks and the second attempt had misfired completely. But you couldn’t possibly have guessed they were having such a terrible day when you noticed them hunched in the garden, two fiery mops of red hair glowing in the afternoon sun. They looked warm, and you realized it was the  _ perfect  _ opportunity to help Freddie cool off in the same gracious manner he’d helped you.

Procuring a tall glass of ice water, you snuck out the back door and quietly maneuvered through the unruly shrubbery. They were several meters away, and you crept through the garden out of earshot, approaching slowly and steadily.

“Bloody hell, George,” Fred mumbled, adjusting the last firework in front of him. “I thought we’d nailed the schematics on the first one.”

George sighed. “Let’s just try the last one. If it doesn’t work better than the first one, we’ll start with those designs and try to fix it.”

He nodded, reaching out to adjust the small tube again.

From your angle, you couldn’t see their faces or what they were doing; however, based on the  _ dreadful  _ color of their shirts, you could figure out who was who. Fred was kneeling in front of you, and you were ready to pounce.

Taking a steadying breath, you leapt out from behind the bush, dumping the water on Fred’s neck. George yelped in surprise, scrambling away from you, though the splash zone was primarily concentrated on his counterpart already.

The water splattered up into Fred’s hair and the ice followed the remaining water’s path trickling over his shoulders, down the front of his shirt. He was soaked, and you giggled as he shook his hair and attempted to brush the ice from his neck. From where you were standing, George was grinning, too, remembering the prank his brother had mentioned earlier in the week.

But Fred wasn’t laughing.

“Dammit!” He turned, fixing you with a glare. Unlike your reaction to his prank, he looked like he meant it. “That was our last prototype to test!” 

Your gaze fell to the object in his hand, a tube of most likely ruined potion ingredients completely soaked with water. “Fred, I’m sorry,” you said, reaching out to take the firework. “We can fix it. I promise I’ll help.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he bit, yanking the hand with the firework away from you. “We’re out of potion ingredients and it took us  _ weeks  _ to make the ones we had.”

George took a step toward him. “It’ll be fine, mate. We know what we did wrong this time.”

“No we don’t,” he growled, sending you another glare. “We have no idea if this solution works or not.”

“Fred, I’m sorry,” you said, reaching out again to try to take the tube. Maybe there was a way you could fix it.

“Just leave me alone.” He whirled away, walking around the side of the house, clenched fists and defeated shoulders keeping you from following.

You were mad at Fred for yelling at you, but also understood why he was so frustrated. The firework building hadn’t been going very well - apparently things were much more difficult in miniature - and progress seemed to be lurking far beyond the horizon. You hadn’t  _ meant  _ to ruin one of their chances for success (and Fred knew that!), but you couldn’t shake the guilt in your chest that you hadn’t been helping them much with construction.

Over the next several days, Fred stayed stiff with you, more due to his own pride and frustrations than anything else. However, you tried to put that aside and help with the project at hand. Excelling in potions, you helped them develop a much better concoction to put in the fireworks; something easier to charm  _ and  _ provide the rich hues of red and gold they were looking for.

Sliding the filled tube in front of him, you gently kissed his cheek. “It’s all yours, Freddie. I hope it works better this time.” And without another word, you disappeared to Ginny’s room to get a good night’s sleep before the gargantuan task of cleaning out Molly’s back garden began the following morning.

* * *

From inside the house, he stood watching you, guilt eating away at his insides for getting cross with you in the first place. He loved you. The last thing he wanted was to hurt you; he hoped you knew that.

Sighing, he nibbled on the edge of his thumb, scratching his fingers along the faint stubble along his jaw. No matter what, you were always tackling something, persevering even if it meant doing so by yourself. You deserved better, and he had to find a way to make it up to you. But first he needed to make amends.

You rubbed your hand over your forehead again, attempting to wipe away a bit of the sweat before it trickled into your eyes. What a heatwave. What a summer. The dirt caked into your fingernails and the weeds stuck to your skin, but you were running out of time before Molly came home and you were determined to finish your task. With the hot sun beating down on your shoulders, though, you were quickly growing too hot and tired to keep going.

There was a rustle behind you, footsteps, and you shifted to find the source of the sound. You were met with a sheepish looking mop of red hair. Fred. Holding a cup.

He stopped beside you, nudging a pile of dirt with the toe of his shoe. “I’m sorry.” Your brow arched in surprise, and he chuckled at your face. “I was a git. A terrible one. I shouldn’t have let my temper get the better of me the other day. I was really disappointed about the fireworks, but that’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I’m sorry.” Thrusting the cup forward jerkily, he glanced down at it. “I bought a peace offering. You looked hot.”

You smiled a welcoming smile, the one that reminded him that no matter what, you’d always care. He let go of his breath, shoulders visibly relaxing knowing you weren’t upset with them. Then your smile morphed into something more mischievous, eyes growing bright as you stood, and worry lurched into his throat. “I looked hot, huh?” You reached into the glass of ice and popped one into your mouth, grabbing another to rub along the bare expanse of your wrist.

He gulped, blushing as he watched you. “Um, yeah. It’s warm out.”

“Yeah, it is.” You popped another cube in your mouth, grabbing two more to rub along your neck. The cool water dribbled against your skin, dripping against the collar of your tank top and running down your chest, disappearing under your shirt.

Was it getting even hotter out here or was it just him? His face felt as red as his hair. Merlin, you looked incredible. He still couldn’t believe he’d met you that day on the train to Hogwarts.

As the final bit of your ice cube melted over your neck, Fred reached into the glass and grabbed the last ice cube, popping it into his mouth.

“Hey!” you pouted, giving him a little push. “That was meant to be mine!”

“You want it?” he asked, speech slurring around the cube. He flashed the ice between his teeth, grinning. “Come and get it.”

You barely hesitated to jump forward, pressing your lips against his own. He stumbled, surprised and caught off balance by the sheer force of your kisses. His hands grasped around your sides, pulling you closer and steadying himself.

He nearly choked on the ice, more focused on you – your hands, your lips, your body, kissing you back – than anything else, but at the rate you were kissing him, it didn’t take very long for the ice to melt.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! If you'd like, you can also find me over on [Tumblr](https://silentexplorer18.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
